Once Upon a Midnight Mikey
by Flynne
Summary: Turtles, sleeping bags, a campfire, marshmallows...and Mikey. "I'm never taking you camping again," Raph grumbled. Mikey snorted. "That's a lie and we all know it. You know you can't resist the s'mores." Set in the 2k3 'verse.


_This is a bonus chapter of sorts for the "Five Times Raph was a Pillow" story. Thanks to Skitsmix for the beta and for dialogue suggestions. Theherocomplex came up with the title, because I cannot title things. _XD_ Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Once Upon a Midnight Mikey<strong>

A light breeze stirred the air, rustling the leaves and causing the treetops to sway against the starry sky. Raph ducked a little deeper into his sleeping bag, blinking drowsily in the waning light of the campfire's glowing ashes. His family had accompanied Casey and April out to the farmhouse for the long Memorial Day weekend, and Mikey had proposed camping out Saturday night. Now, stuffed with hot dogs and s'mores, Raph could feel a pleasant drowsiness creeping over him.

"Hey, Raph?"

Raph grunted a little in protest as he was pulled from the brink of sleep. "What, Mikey?"

"I'm cold."

"We told ya it'd be cooler tonight. You wanted to come anyway, remember?"

"I didn't think it'd be this windy, though," Mikey said with a huff.

Raph could practically _hear_ him pouting. "You'll be fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "Now shut your trap and let me sleep." He settled back into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes again. There were a few moments of silence before a shuffling and rustling caught his attention, and he looked over to see Mikey wiggling around in his sleeping bag. "Mikey, what the shell are you doing?"

"It's _cold_," came the reply.

It was then Raph realized that Mikey wasn't so much wiggling around as he was scooting his sleeping bag across the grass. "Hey, hold on a sec…" Even completely bundled in his sleeping bag, Mikey was surprisingly agile and he managed to close the gap between his sleeping spot and Raphael's in less than a minute.

Raph "oofed" as Mikey gave one final scoot and flopped heavily against him. "Dangit, Mikey…!" Mikey wiggled around again, pushing his sleeping bag up against Raphael's like an affectionate slug. Raph scowled as he heard Don's muffled snickering. "Will you at least hold still?" For a minute, he thought Mikey might actually comply, but then he heard the rasp of a zipper and felt a burst of cold air rush into his sleeping bag. "Mikey, what are you _doing?"_

"It is cold," Mikey said doggedly. "I am cold. I demand snuggles."

Leo snorted and Don laughed outright at that, but Raph was too occupied trying to shove Mikey away to do more than shoot a dirty look in their direction. He planted his hand against Mikey's shoulder and pushed, but it was like fighting against a giant green octopus. "Mikey, don't you think you're a little too old to - "

"_Snuggles."_ Mikey said firmly.

"Whatever you guys do, just make sure you don't fall in the firepit, okay?" Leo piped up, watching the struggle from within his own sleeping bag.

Raph glared at him. "You're not helping, Leo."

Leo's smirk was a flash of teeth in the darkness. "I'm not trying to help."

Mikey finally managed to unzip Raphael's sleeping bag. He smacked his brother's arm out of the way and kicked himself forward. Raph let out a startled exclamation as Mikey slammed into him, bowling him over and flapping his sleeping bag wide open.

"Would you get _offa _me?" he snapped, struggling to free himself. He smooshed his hand against Mikey's face and pushed, giving a little "ha!" of triumph as he managed to sit up. The chilly wind brushed across his shoulders, and his gloating expression morphed into an irritated frown. "Come on, Mikey, now _I'm_ cold."

"Not for long!" Mikey grabbed his own sleeping bag, opening the zipper all the way as well, then shook it open and threw it over himself and Raphael like a quilt. "There," Mikey said triumphantly. He flopped down again, wrapping Raph in a bear hug.

"Gah! _Mikey!_ Get away from me, your feet are _freezing!"_

"I told you I was cold! This shouldn't be a surprise to you!"

Both Leo and Don were laughing helplessly, lying in quaking lumps inside their sleeping bags. Despite his efforts to maintain his wounded pouting, Mikey let a snicker or two slip out as well as he settled under the sleeping bag and snuggled up to his brother.

Raph lay on his back, throwing a few halfhearted elbows into Mikey's ribs before giving up and relaxing with a put-upon sigh. "Better?" he asked, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Much!" Mikey answered happily. "You're always really warm, Raphie." He shivered theatrically, though, as a fresh gust of wind swept out of the cloudless sky, and clung closer. "...You know," he said innocently, "I bet Donny and Leo are kinda cold, all by themselves in their sleeping bags."

"They're fine," Raph growled.

"No they're not. Leo's cold, aren't you, Leo?"

"Well...it would be wrong to lie to you, Mikey. It _is_ a little chilly," Leo said solemnly.

"Yeah, since the fire died down it's a lot cooler out here," Don added.

"See? I _told_ you," Mikey said. He craned his neck to look at his brothers. "You guys wanna get in on this?"

"Sure! Come on, Leo." Don climbed out of his sleeping bag, unzipping it as he walked, and layered it on top of Mikey's before slipping underneath.

"Aw, _shell_, if you're gonna do this, at least move faster, Don! You're lettin' in cold air!" Raph groused.

"Now you know how _I _felt!" Mikey said.

"Can it, marshmallow-breath."

Raph scowled as the weight of a third sleeping bag draped over him, and then a draft came in from the _other_ side as Leo slipped in next to him. Raph tried to elbow Leo, but Mikey was curled around him, clinging like a limpet, and his arms were pinned against his sides.

"It _is_ warm under here," Don said, scooting over to press against Mikey.

"Yeah, Raph, who knew you were such a good hot water bottle?" Leo asked with a grin.

"_I_ knew," Mikey said smugly. He let go of Raph with one arm just long enough to jab a warning finger at Don and Leo. "But you can't take advantage of this now that the secret is out. I still get first dibs."

"I'm never taking you camping again," Raph grumbled.

Mikey snorted. "That's a lie and we all know it. You know you can't resist the s'mores." He rested his head more comfortably against Raph's shoulder. "Now, try not to snore."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to," Raph retorted, squirming briefly against Mikey's confining grip before giving up again. "In order to snore, I'd have to be able to _breathe_."

"You can breathe later. I'm still getting warm."

Raph could hear Leo's quiet snicker as he struggled to hold in his laughter. "_So_ glad you're amused by this," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, I am," Leo said with a chuckle. He surprised Raph then by scooting over the last few inches to lean against him. While Leo frequently tolerated being piled on by his brothers, when left to his own devices, he usually stayed within his own bubble of personal space.

"You too, huh?" Raph asked in resignation.

"Mikey's right. It's cold," Leo answered matter-of-factly.

Raph just heaved a sigh, still scowling but not really annoyed anymore. "If my arms fall asleep, I'm pushin' all of you onto the grass."

"Duly noted," Don said sleepily.

One by one, Raph's brothers grew heavy with sleep. Raph was uncomfortably warm beneath the layers of sleeping bags and pile of brothers. He knew that if he shifted around enough, he could give himself a little space without waking them...but in the end he just sighed again and relaxed. "You've all got shells for brains," he grumbled affectionately. He blinked drowsily up at the stars until sleep claimed him.


End file.
